The 41-year-old biologist, former Peace Corps member and bicyclist in recent years had cultivated his love of cooking and developed intricate recipes he followed meticulously. His family dreads the thought of Thanksgiving without him this year, Myers' sister, Paula Myers Burns, told a judge on Thursday. For that, and because Myers' death left a void in so many lives, Anne Wall Cheron, 56, of Hobe Sound should have been sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison for driving drunk and killing Myers as he rode his bicycle near Jonathan Dickinson State Park on a Sunday morning in April, Burns and others said. But Martin Circuit Judge Robert Belanger, who said it was the toughest sentence he has pronounced in his nearly two years on the bench, instead gave Cheron six years in prison and nine years of probation. Belanger called the case one of the most aggravated instances of DUI manslaughter he had ever seen and reviewed the facts of that morning, saying that Cheron's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the level at which a driver can be legally presumed drunk when she hit Myers and then left the scene. "She left him there alone to die," he said of Cheron. "That may not have been her intention, but that's what she did." The Thursday afternoon hearing brought out dozens of supporters for Myers, who tried as best they could to encapsulate the man's rich life in letters, stories and pictures for the judge. They talked about his successes in ridding area parks, including Jonathan Dickinson, where he worked for the last six years of his life, of exotic plant species. They talked about his cycling trip through the French Alps and his work in Ecuador with the Peace Corps, which produced a close-knit group of friends who travelled across the country for the hearing to say how much they missed him.

STUART — Thanksgiving was Philip Myers' favorite holiday, his family and friends said.

The 41-year-old biologist, former Peace Corps member and bicyclist in recent years had cultivated his love of cooking and developed intricate recipes he followed meticulously. His family dreads the thought of Thanksgiving without him this year, Myers' sister, Paula Myers Burns, told a judge on Thursday.

For that, and because Myers' death left a void in so many lives, Anne Wall Cheron, 56, of Hobe Sound should have been sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison for driving drunk and killing Myers as he rode his bicycle near Jonathan Dickinson State Park on a Sunday morning in April, Burns and others said.

But Martin Circuit Judge Robert Belanger, who said it was the toughest sentence he has pronounced in his nearly two years on the bench, instead gave Cheron six years in prison and nine years of probation.

Belanger called the case one of the most aggravated instances of DUI manslaughter he had ever seen and reviewed the facts of that morning, saying that Cheron's blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the level at which a driver can be legally presumed drunk when she hit Myers and then left the scene.

"She left him there alone to die," he said of Cheron. "That may not have been her intention, but that's what she did."

The Thursday afternoon hearing brought out dozens of supporters for Myers, who tried as best they could to encapsulate the man's rich life in letters, stories and pictures for the judge.

They talked about his successes in ridding area parks, including Jonathan Dickinson, where he worked for the last six years of his life, of exotic plant species. They talked about his cycling trip through the French Alps and his work in Ecuador with the Peace Corps, which produced a close-knit group of friends who travelled across the country for the hearing to say how much they missed him.

One friend, Teresa Heger, who traveled from San Jose, wiped tears from her eyes as she remembered a trip she took with Myers in Europe a few years ago. The weather was unbearably hot and the ride ridiculously long, she said, but Phil's presence made it one of the happiest days of her life.

Cheron's family and friends from church also showed up and told Belanger the first-grade teacher, though she battled with alcoholism, was a kind person who never would have hurt anyone intentionally. Her attorney, Michelle Suskauer, said Cheron was her daughter's teacher at the Benjamin School in Palm Beach County and was a brilliant educator.

Cheron cried for most of the hearing, then turned and faced Myers' family and told them she sincerely did not know she had hit Myers that morning.

"Nothing can assuage my horror at taking an innocent man's life," she said.

As part of her sentence, Cheron will also have to pay about $9,000 restitution and her license will be permanently revoked. Myers' family and friends were disappointed with the sentence, they said afterwards, but said there is nothing Cheron could do to help their pain.

"Not unless she can raise the dead," one friend said as she left the courthouse.

Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here.

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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Story Source: The Palm Beach Post

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; Obituaries; Crime; Alcoholism

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